om the beginning, has sometimes
revealed to him, and by him, things deep in futurity. Thus the sacred seer
who is esteemed the most eloquent of the ancient prophets, more than _seven
hundred years_ before the events occurred, spoke of the vicarious
sufferings of Christ as of things already past, and even then described
them in the phraseology of historical facts: "Surely he _hath borne_ our
griefs, _and carried_ our sorrows: yet we _did esteem_ him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he _was wounded_ for our transgressions;
he _was bruised_ for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace _was_
upon him; and by his stripes we are healed."--_Isaiah_, liii, 4 and 5.
Multiplied instances of a similar application of the past tenses to future
events, occur in the Bible, especially in the writings of this prophet.

PERSONS AND NUMBERS.

The person and number of a verb are those modifications in which it agrees
with its subject or nominative.

In each number, there are three persons; and in each person, two numbers:
thus,

_Singular._ _Plural._
1st per. I love, 1st per. We love,
2d per. Thou lovest, 2d per. You love,
3d per. He loves; 3d per. They love.

Definitions universally applicable have already been given of all these
things; it is therefore unnecessary to define them again in this place.

Where the verb is varied, the second person singular is regularly formed by
adding _st_ or _est_ to the first person; and the third person singular, in
like manner, by adding _s_ or _es_: as, I _see_, thou _seest_, he _sees_; I
_give_, thou _givest_, he _gives_; I _go_, thou _goest_, he _goes_; I
_fly_, thou _fliest_, he _flies_; I _vex_, thou _vexest_, he _vexes_; I
_lose_, thou _losest_, he _loses._

Where the verb is not varied to denote its person and number, these
properties are inferred from its subject or nominative: as, If I _love_, if
thou _love_, if he _love_; if we _love_, if you _love_, if they _love_.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.--It is considered a principle of Universal Grammar, that a finite
verb must agree with its subject or nominative in person and number. Upon
this principle, we ascribe to every such verb the person and number of the
nominative word, whether the verb itself be literally modified by the
relation or not. The doctrine must be constantly taught and observed, in
every language in which the verbs have _any variations_ of this kind. But
suppose an insta